Intel updates mainstream 330 series SSD drives

CHIPMAKER Intel has updated its mainstream solid state disk (SSD) drive range with the 330 series drives.

Intel's SSD range has consisted of three products that the firm pitchs at the mainstream, enthusiast and workstation and server markets, and it has updated arguably its most important model, the mainstream 300 series. The firm's latest 330 SSD line comes in 60GB, 120GB and 180GB capacities and is based on the firm's 25nm NAND flash memory chips.

Intel claims the drives are good for 500MB/s sequential read and 450MB/s sequential write rates while random I/O operations per second are at 22,500 IOPS and 33,000 IOPS for read and write, respectively. The firm also offers a three-year warranty on the 330 series SSD units.

James Slattery, product line manager for client SSDs at Intel said, "An SSD is still the single best upgrade you can make to your existing PC, and the Intel SSD 330 Series gives users the latest Intel SSD technology at a price to meet their budget." Although Slattery's comments might not be surprising given his position at Intel, it is also very true for a number of people.

Although Intel's 330 series SSDs have significantly lower IOPS than the firm's 520 series and the recently announced 900 series PCI-Express based SSDs, with prices starting at around £70 for the 60GB model it is an upgrade worthy of consideration for those still using hard disk drives exclusively. µ